The air on the boundary of the Silvermoon Enterprise was thin and smelled of freezing metal and ozone, but beneath it all was the sharp, metallic tang of blood—a warning that Lucian had arrived.
Alpha Lucian, the brutal leader of the Bloodfang Pack, moved with the predatory grace of a nightmare.
He backed Sienna into the deepening shadows cast by the monolithic skyscraper.
His presence was a physical weight; his aggressive Alpha pheromones surged forth like a suffocating fog, forcing Sienna's lungs to seize.
As an Omega, her body was biologically programmed to tremble, but she forced her spine to remain a rigid line of defiance.
"The high-and-mighty Lycan King," Lucian purred, his voice a gravelly rasp.
He leaned in close, his fangs lengthening as he bared them in a mocking sneer. "Who would have thought Silas would play the hero for his little replacement secretary? Tell me, Sienna, does it sting? Seeing your mate—the man who discarded you—throwing his shield over someone else so readily?"
Sienna gripped the hem of her sleeve, her knuckles white. Inside, her soul was a jagged mess of glass, but she kept her face a mask of frost.
"Who Alpha Silas chooses to protect is no longer my concern. My only goal is to provide you with the leverage you need to dismantle him."
Lucian let out a dark, jagged laugh.
He didn't care about the business contracts or the territory maps.
He lunged forward, his thick, rough fingers clamping around Sienna's chin.
He tilted her head back, his eyes swirling with a predatory, obsessive greed.
"I've changed my mind about the leverage," Lucian hissed. "I want Victoria. That new little she-wolf Silas is so fond of. You have three days, Sienna. Find a way to deliver her to my bed."
Sienna's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "Alpha Lucian, that is impossible. She is under his direct protection."
Lucian leaned in until his fangs grazed the pulse point of her neck. He let out a low, dangerous rumble that vibrated through her bones. "Then it's a simple choice, little Omega. Either you bring her to me... or you take her place. You know exactly what I'll do to a defenseless Omega like you once I get you behind closed doors. Three days. Choose wisely."
He released her with a violent shove, turning and vanishing into the night.
Sienna stood alone in the howling wind, looking up at the glowing lights of the Silvermoon tower.
She was a pawn in a game of monsters, and the board was shrinking.
Later that night, Sienna pushed through the heavy doors of a private booth in The Goldmine, a bar located in the Neutral Zone.
This was the territory of Gwen, her only true friend. Here, the laws of the packs were muffled by heavy bass and the smell of expensive gin.
Gwen, a fierce rogue with eyes that saw too much, slid a glass of amber liquid across the table.
Her face was etched with worry. "Sienna, you're playing with fire. You were exiled from the inner circle for a reason. Why are you tangling with a psychopath like Lucian? You're going to get yourself killed."
Sienna took a long, burning swallow of the drink.
The Mate Bond, though fractured, throbbed with a phantom pain that made her voice rasp. "It's not a choice, Gwen. They don't let people like me just walk away. An unawakened Omega is just property to them."
"Then let's go. We can disappear," Gwen urged, leaning in.
Sienna shook her head, her eyes distant. "They'd hunt us. I have to finish this."
Gwen's phone buzzed, and she stood up with a sigh. "I have to handle a shipment. Stay here. I'll take you to the safe house when I'm done. Don't move."
Sienna watched her friend leave and finished her glass. Mate? Lover? she thought, a bitter smile touching her lips. I'm less than a stray dog in this world.
Suddenly, the door to the booth was kicked open with a violent crash.
Mia, a high-ranking noble and Silas's cousin, stormed in, flanked by two snarling she-wolves.
Before Sienna could even stand, Mia blurred across the room with Lycan speed.
SLAP.
The force of the blow sent Sienna sprawling across the velvet sofa, blood blooming at the corner of her mouth.
"You lowly Omega bitch!" Mia screamed, her eyes glowing a lethal yellow. "How dare you try to seduce my mate? Do you think because Silas used you as a toy, you can climb into any noble's bed?"
Sienna wiped the blood from her lip, her eyes hardening. "You have the wrong person."
"Liars get their tongues cut out!" Mia roared.
She gestured to her followers. "Hold her down!"
The two she-wolves pinned Sienna's arms, their Alpha-blood pressure making her bones creak.
Mia grabbed a bottle of stinging liquor from the table and poured it over Sienna's head, the cold liquid drenching her hair and clothes.
"If I ever smell your cheap Omega scent near my mate again," Mia hissed, extending her claws, "I'll carve that pretty face into ribbons."
Mia shoved her back, and Sienna's head slammed against the sharp corner of the mahogany table.
A sickening thud echoed in the small room.
As darkness crowded her vision and blood began to soak into her hair, a flicker of something ancient and cold began to stir deep within Sienna's soul. The Hidden Luna was waking up.